THE NEXT STEPS IN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

Strategic planning for the library is about managing resources. Our resources are staff, space, collections, and technology. Each one is very important and each one has to work together to meet the goals for library service for our community. Our goals and service priorities are the result of input from the public, review and discussion with our Community Planning Committee, and final approval by our Board of Trustees.

We start with our first service response – Connect to the Online World and see what resources are needed to fully provide this service. We go through each service response until we don’t have any more resources. Next is Stimulate Imagination, Lifelong Learning, Create Young Readers, Visit a Comfortable Space, and lastly Understand how to find Information. A lot to accomplish but we are up to the task.

So far we have reviewed our staffing and made some adjustments to our workflows and responsibilities. To meet our service goals of more materials in a timely fashion, we have dedicated more staff time to cataloging and processing and also simplified our ordering process. We are pleased to announce that we have hired Holli Whitmore for Youth Services and Computer Training to help us meet several of our goals.

As to space we are ready to make some changes to Veterans Memorial Library to make the building friendlier for patrons as well as to increase efficiencies and improve access. We will be taking care of some of the renovations needed since the building was remodeled in 1985 and can now take advantage of several improvements in heating and lighting energy savings.

For the patrons the biggest changes will be in our layout. Highlights of the new plan are a larger adult computer lab, storytime space in the children’s area, a more defined teen area, a family computer lab, and more comfortable seating. To complete this work in the most cost effective and efficient manner, we are going to partially shutdown VML during January and February 2010 to undergo these renovations and then reopen in March for the Library’s 100^th Anniversary Celebration.

We will have limited library services available from the Library Annex. More information will be posted as plans develop; be sure to check our website for updates.

Faith Johnston Memorial Library (FJML) in Rosebush will be open as usual as well as our other library branches to serve your library needs. And to help with more computer and Internet access in Rosebush, we are very pleased to announce that a generous donation in honor of Dr. Leonard Plachta to the library has enabled us to add a wireless connection between VML and FJML.

At our Rosebush branch we have 13 computer workstations and offer wireless access for patrons. With this new wireless connection between the libraries, it is like going from driving on a dirt road to having access to a super highway. The library was able to maximize the donation and wireless connection by partnering with the Mt. Pleasant Public School district. Dan Marvin, Technology Director, and his staff have been excellent to work with on collaborative efforts to bring better service and information access to local residents.

So as usual your library is going to be a busy place this fall as we prepare for the next 100 years of great library service. Thank you for your support and happy winter reading!